Aren't Southampton Good !

Haven't Southampton done well? They did well last season with an exceptional start, looking like they could challenge for a European place before falling away slightly but still remaining up at the top end of the league.  They had individual players reaching the very top of the game in this country with Lambert and Lallana winning great reviews whilst representing England, Lovren, Schneiderlin and Wanyama amongst others making names for themselves around Europe and young players including Luke Shaw tipped for the very top, all under the leadership of young forward thinking coach Pochettino who is also tipped for big things.

Then during the summer the inevitable happened and the big boys came calling, as is always the case when a team has a small amount of success clubs at the next level up have a look and invariably take their players away.  Liverpool were the biggest vultures taking Lambert, Lallana and Lovren, with Shaw leaving to join United and Callum Chambers Arsenal and perhaps the biggest loss to Southampton the man who had moulded them all Pochettino leaving to take charge at Spurs.  But Southampton made them pay, they made huge amounts of money on every player, important for a smaller club.

Importantly Southampton refused to sell more of their players and big clubs were clubs circling around especially with regards to Schniederlin but others to, but they didn't need to sell and it was important that at least something resembling a core of the team remained.  Firstly, Pochetino needed replacing and the board brought in Ronald Koeman, a big name who had a bit of experience around Europe, he arrived and set about rebuilding the squad that had almost been picked clean by premiership rivals. Some of the money made from the sales was invested in team with Tadic, Pelle, Forster, Gordos, Long and Mane all signed.  Tadic and Forster to me looked like excellent signings but some of the others I was unsure about but they have in general proved me wrong.  Pelle was a low level striker with a poor scoring record but has been a major success since joining and has been banging the goals in for fun.  On top of these signings more youngsters have joined the squad from the impressive academy that is one of the best in Europe, if you look at the names that have been produced, young players that I'm sure will attract interest from clubs in the not to distant future and earn Southampton more money.

Clubs the size of Southampton have to sell, most clubs do, but thanks to their academy they are producing quality players who are getting first team experience and they are then able to sell them on with huge transfer fees, this money is re-invested in the first team, so far very wisely with good players coming in to the team and pushing the club further up the table, would anybody seriously bet against them challenging for a place in Europe come the end of the season and if they make it that's more cash into the coffers.  It all relies on quality coming out of the academy and sensible business in the transfer market, but that's exactly what they have been doing and currently it looks like the best model in the league.

At the start of the season Southampton were tipped almost universally for a season long fight against relegation and following their first game defeat against Liverpool all the reports suggested that this predictions were true, nobody could lose so many top players and survive.  How wrong were we all? They have gone from strength to strength culminating in a recent 8-0 victory over Sunderland in the league and are sitting at the time of writing in a superb second place, all their players are winning rave reviews, so much so that the vultures are again circling, already and Koeman appears to have slotted in and carried on where the previous management left off.  

We, as supporters of other teams are all jealous of what they have achieved, but you have to admit, aren't Southampton good?

@lfclumo